Knife handle



r Jan. 29,1935. I CAMPBELL, 1,989,225

KNIFE HANDLE Filed Aug. '14, 1953 Patented Jan. 29, 1935 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE KNIFE HANDLE Ralph Campbell, Seminole, Okla.

Application August 14, 1933, Serial No. 685,103

1 Claim. (o1. 30-9) This invention relates to handles for knives andother tools and has for its object the provision of a handle which willbe comfortable to the user, which may be readily applied to a knifeblade, or other tool, and firmly secured. The invention is illustratedin the accompanying drawing and consists in certain novel features whichwill be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a knife having my improved handle,

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the handle in longitudinal section, Y

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

The knife blade'l may be of any preferred design and it is to beunderstood that, while I have shown the invention applied to a knife, itmay be applied to other tools such as meat cleavers, hammers, or a widevariety of other hand-operated implements. The blade 1 is formed with atang 2 at its butt end which has an opening formed therethrough, as willbe understood upon reference to Figure 3. Fitted in the opening in thetang is the hooked end 3 of a rod 4 which extends longitudinally throughthe handle and has its outer extremity 5 externally threaded, as

, clearly shown in Figure 2. The tang-engaging hook may be left open butit will preferably be closed on the tang by welding before the ferruleis applied. A ferrule 6 is fitted around the tang of the blade and thehooked end of the handle rod 4, and this ferrule is formed of moldedaluminum and-is preferably welded to the end of the rod and to the tangso that a very firm and secure joint is effected.

Assembled, upon the handle rod 4 are blocks 7 of wood havingan'attractive grain and disposed between adjacent blocks of wood areplates or disks 8 and 9' which are of aluminum and are given the samecontour as the blocks so that the edges of the blocks and plates will beflush. It will be readily noted upon reference to the drawing that thecentral block 9 is considerably thicker than the outer blocks or plates8 and all of the metal plates or blocks are thinner or shorter than thewooden blocks. The handle rod 4, however, extends through all the blocks'7 andthe plates or disks 8 and 9, and its threaded end projects beyondthe outer block 7. Engaged with the threaded extremity of the handle rodis a nut 10 having a threaded socket 11 which is engaged by the threadedextremity of the rod, and countersunk in the inner face of the nut is alock washer 12, which is shown as a split ring, 5 fitting around the rodand tending constantly to expand so that its ends will tend to bite intothe adjacent surfaces of the nut and the rod and thereby preventcounter-rotation of the nut and loss of the same.

In assembling the parts of. the handle, after the handle rod has beensecured to the tang of the blade, the ferrule 6 is placed in positionand may be welded in place. A wooden block '7 is then slipped on the rodagainst the ferrule and 15 one of the thin metal plates 8 is fitted onthe rod against the wooden block. Another wooden block is then placed inposition after which the thicker metal plate 9 is fitted on the rod.This process is continued until all the wooden blocks 20 and metalplates or disks are assembled upon the rod, the turning home of the nut10 serving to secure the parts firmly together so that the edges of theseveral elements will be flush and there will be no open joints betweenadjacent elements. 25 The alternating blocks of wood and metal impart avery neat and attractive finish to the handle and the several elementsmay be given such contour as experience and judgment may consider mostcomfortable to the user. The 30 handle may be very quickly assembled andthe fully finished handle may be produced at a very lowcost. The centralhandle rod not only furnishes-a support for the several elements of thehandle but also serves as a longitudinal brace to impart rigidity to thehandle so that it is not apt to bend or warp, or otherwise lose itsproper shape and become unfit for use.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

A tool handle comprising a handle rod having a hook at one end, a toolhaving a portion provided with an opening through which said hook isengaged, a ferrule fitted snugly around the hook and the engaged portionof the tool and permanently united therewith, the outer endiof the rodbeing exteriorly threaded, alternating blocks of wood and metal fittedupon the rod, the innermost block of wood being disposed against theferrule, a metal nut having a central socketengaged with the threadedend of the rod. and a lock washer countersunk in the inner side of thenut and engaging the nut and the rod.

RALPH CAMPBELL.

